Following the Good Omens panel at New York Comic Con 2018 on Saturday, October 6 in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden was the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse panel.
Prior to the start of the panel, all Spider-Man cosplayers were called up on stage for a group photo.
With a scheduled panel time of 11:30am – 1:00pm, it seemed pretty obvious that we would get some sort of extended look at the film, or at least be shown several clips.
But what I didn’t realize was that we would get to see the entire first 35 minutes of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! The audience had to take a pledge that we wouldn’t spoil anything, plus we were warned that some of the animation was not yet quite complete. However, I will say that we were both very impressed by what we saw! The visuals were so unique, and looked phenomenal, and the storyline that has been set up is very intriguing. We were all in and wished we could finish watching the movie right then and there!
After watching the 35 minute screening, the panelists were brought out on stage, which included Producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord, voice actors Shameik Moore (Miles Morales), Jake Johnson (Peter Parker), Luna Lauren-Velez (Miles’ mother, Rio), Brian Tyree Henry (Miles’ father, Jefferson), and Directors Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey.
Lord and Miller talked about the importance of bringing the Miles Morales story to the big screen, recalling how Sony had approached them about doing an animated Spider-Man movie, but they didn’t want to redo the same story that we’ve seen over and over again, so they said they wouldn’t do it unless it was about Miles Morales. Lord said, “We set out to make the most different Spider-Man movie we could.”
The moderator pointed out that the film looks like it’s been ripped right off the pages of a comic book. Director Bob Persichetti elaborated on the visuals of the film, saying that they had considered how they could take advantage of this medium and tie it to the original source material of a comic book. They wanted to use visuals that are reminiscent of drawings, but had to figure out how to do it with a computer. Persichetti went on to talk about the use of Miles’ hometown of Brooklyn, which he described as a “characterful borough,” and mentioned how each borough has its own flavor and its own voice. Director Peter Ramsey added that their goal was to use animation to be more expressive, like a comic, and to bring New York 2018 to life in a way that everyone could understand. “Hopefully we got it right,” he added. Miller chimed in, “We didn’t tell them how bold of a visual approach we were going to take until it was too late to change it.”
The moderator also brought up the fact that this movie opens up the multiverse, and Lord acknowledged that they had created a problem for themselves, in that they might get stuck making 38 sequels due to the various Spider-Man incarnations they came up with! Miller said that one idea they wanted to latch onto was that it didn’t matter who you are, you could see yourself up on screen behind the mask.
Shameik Moore, who voices Miles Morales, recalled when he first discovered there was a black Spider-Man (though he acknowledged that Miles is also half Latino, which he himself is not), it was after he had starred in Dope. He was so inspired and excited that he even wrote in his journal: “I am Spider-Man. I am Miles Morales.” Then two years later he got the chance to play the part!
Jake Johnson told us about the Peter Parker that he plays, describing him as Peter Parker at forty, who’s a little chubby, and a little depressed. Then he and Miles become partners in crime. He framed the relationship between the two as “a little bit Karate Kid. Mr. Miyagi and Danielson.” Johnson further elaborated that the two end up needing each other to get out of their situation, and becoming friends along the way. Shameik Moore accidentally dropped a spoiler about “his” Peter Parker, believing everyone watching the panel had seen the first 35 minutes, not realizing that the panel was being livestreamed online. He was given a good-natured ribbing by Miller, as well as Johnson, who told him, “You ruined Comic Con!” [Spoiler alert: Stop reading and skip ahead to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know the spoiler. Last warning. Here’s the spoiler. It’s that his Peter Parker dies. But obviously that happens within the first 35 minutes, so there’s a lot more to the movie.]
Miller said that Moore was their first choice for Miles Morales due to his distinctive and fun voice.
Brian Tyree Henry spoke about the importance of representation, and how it was important to him to see “a black boy and his father” because you don’t often see that on screen. Henry brought up how you usually see a black boy and a single mother, but in this case Miles has two parents giving him a good upbringing, in Brooklyn, in an Afro-Latino home. Although, at the same time, his character, a cop, is fighting against Spider-Man because he
hates Spider-Man.
As for Luna Lauren-Velez, who plays Miles’ mother, this was her first experience with an animated feature. She herself is the daughter of a cop, this family reminded her of her own family growing up. Lauren-Velez also liked the bilingual aspect, which she has never seen in animation, as she is proud to be New Yorican.
Persichetti and Ramsey spoke of the three years of blood, sweat, and tears they put into this film, as well as love and passion. Ramsey brought up how when they learned that it would be Miles Morales, they were so determined to make a character that the audience would really love and empathize with.
Regarding the music of the film, Post Malone contributes a song, among several other artists. Lord and Miller praised the amazing soundtrack that would be coming out, which Lord described as “essential to your understanding of the film.” Lord also talked about the score by composer Daniel Pemberton, saying that it has “its own texture” and that “we thought that a movie that looked this weird needed something that sounded original. ”
The moderator announced that if you stay through the credits of Venom, then you could see a sneak peek at Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Before the panel wrapped up, Phil Lord made sure to give a shout out to Brian Michael Bendis, who created the character Miles Morales and his family.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hits theaters on December 14, 2018.
You can view more of our photos from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse panel at NYCC 2018 in our photo gallery below.
I was surprised how well that movie turned out.
Loved Into the Spider-verse!